ESCAPE ROOMS- Wizards & Wires: The Curiosity Shop – California

This escape room was definitely worth our drive to Riverside from Los Angeles. This is a “haunted” shop. There is no lobby, so we waited outside until out scheduled time. (Technically I ran into the fast food restaurant down the block to use the bathroom and by the time I got back the game master was outside passing out release forms.) There is ample street parking directly in front, so if the weather is not ideal you could easily sit in your car until it’s time to begin.

The Curiosity Shop is one of the best examples of storytelling in an escape room that I’ve experienced out of the 90+ escape rooms I’ve played so far. It’s incredibly well done. The decor is outstanding. The effects are perfectly executed. You are given ghost hunting tools, which is one of the most creative hint systems I’ve encountered. One tool allows the ghost to speak through EVPs and if you pay attention it might help you along the way. The use of the other tool is a really cool way to give assistance and have the timer incorporated into the story.

The puzzles are not especially difficult, but still challenging enough to be fun. It didn’t have the same rushed, panicked, competitive feel of a typical escape room. It is a nice change of pace to know that the owners/creators want everyone to experience the entire story, so as long as you want to get out and pay attention you will receive enough help along the way to do so.

The two owners/creators that I met are very nice and passionate about their room. They have a background in haunts and it shows.

This is one of my favorite experiences because it felt like being immersed in a movie due to the incredible storytelling, set, and effects. Also I love the paranormal, so this combined two of my favorite things: Ghosts & Escape Rooms.